Mooring device

ABSTRACT

A mooring device including a canister, a spool having two side walls with notches around their perimeters, a mooring cable wrapped around the spool, a lid having a first piece and a second piece, and two rows of stops extending from the bottom surface of the lid. The two rows of stops engage the notches of the two side walls of the pool when the first piece of the lid is in the closed position. The stops are disengaged from the notches when the first piece of the lid is in the open position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority to pending PatentCooperation Treaty application No. PCT/US2014/031575 filed on 24 Mar.2014 which claims priority to expired provisional application No.61/806372 filed on 28 Mar. 2013, all of which are owned by the sameinventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a mooring device and, morespecifically, to a mooring device attachable to a dock or pier.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Historically, mooring or docking a boat has involved tying mooringcables, such as ropes, around elongated cleats that are attached to theends of a dock, pier, or slip. This prior art mooring process andequipment have several drawbacks. First, because the cleats are elevatedfrom the dock, pier, or slip, the cleats pose a tripping hazard to thosewalking or working on the dock, pier, or slip. Second, the excess cablethat extends from the knots tied to the cleats poses a tripping hazardand gives a cluttered appearance on the dock, pier, or slip. Third,since most boats do not have dedicated storage for mooring cables, thecables rest on the seats or on the floor of the boat when the boat isnot docked. This also gives a cluttered appearance and can pose atripping hazard. It, therefore, would be desirable to develop a mooringdevice that overcomes these drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a mooring device including acanister, a spool having two side walls with notches around theirperimeter, a mooring cable wrapped around the spool, a lid having afirst piece and a second piece, and two rows of stops extending from thebottom surface of the lid, The two rows of stops engage the notches ofthe two side walls of the spool when the first piece of the lid is inthe closed position. The stops are disengaged from the notches when thefirst piece of the lid is in the open position.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofthat follows may be better understood and that the present contributionto the art may be better appreciated. Additional features of theinvention will be described hereinafter and which will form the subjectmatter of the claims attached.

Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a readingof the following detailed description of the presently preferred, butnonetheless illustrative, embodiment of the present invention when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Before explaining thecurrent embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology employed herein arefor the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

One object of the present invention is to provide a mooring device thatreadily retracts a mooring line within it.

Another object is to provide such a mooring device that has a smooth topsurface.

Another object is to provide such a mooring device that blends flushwith adjacent decking.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointedout with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part ofthis disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, itsoperating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the mooring device of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the mooring device of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the lid of the mooring device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the lid of the mooring device of thepresent invention installed in the surface of a dock;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the mooring device of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the lid of the mooring device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the spool of the mooring device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the spool of the mooring device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the spool of the mooring device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the spool and spring assembly of themooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a front cut-away view of the spool and the stops of themooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of two embodiments of the mooring deviceof the present invention attached to a dock;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the lid ofthe mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a side cut-away view of the spool and the lid of the mooringdevice of the present invention; and,

FIG. 16 is a side cut-away view of the spool and the lid of the mooringdevice of the present invention.

The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout thevarious figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention overcomes the prior art limitations by providing amooring device for improving the appearance and operation of a containerof lines, ropes, and cables upon a dock, a boat, and the like.

With reference to FIGS. 1-16, the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention are hereby described. The mooring device 10 includes acylindrical canister 12, a lid 14, and a spool 16 with a mooring cable1B (e.g. rope) wrapped around it. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, the canister12 preferably has a flat bottom piece 20, a circular side wall 22 thatextends vertically from the bottom piece, and a flange 24 around theopening at the top of the canister 12. The flange 24 rests on the topsurface of a pier, dock, or slip 34 when the mooring device 10 isinstalled.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 7, 14, the lid 14 includes two pieces hingedtogether. The second piece 30 of the lid 14 is fixed in place while thefirst piece 28 opens and closes. Both pieces of the lid 14 arepreferably semicircular shaped. Thus, each piece has a curved edgejoined to a straight edge, the two pieces 28, 30 are connected to oneanother at their straight edges via complementary notches. As shown inFIG. 6, a rod 32 is tethered 5 through the complementary notches, whichhinges the two pieces 28, 30 together. A series of fasteners 26, such astamper-proof screws, are positioned around the curved edge of the secondpiece of the lid 14. These fasteners 26 extend through the second piece30 of the lid 14 and connect the second piece 30 of the lid to theflange 24 of the canister 12. The fasteners 26 also extend through theflange 24.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 13, the canister 12 is preferably attached to adock, pier, or slip 34 such that the lid 14 is substantially flush withthe top surface of the dock, pier, or slip 34. The flange 24 and the lid14 are the only portions of the mooring device 10 that extend above thetop surface of the dock, pier, or slip 34. The fasteners 26 that extendthrough the second piece 30 of the lid 14 and the flange 24 fix themooring device 10 to the dock, pier, or slip 34. While the fasteners donot extend through the first piece 28 of the lid 14, the fasteners 26 doextend through the flange 24 under the first piece 28 of the lid andinto the dock, pier, or slip 34 to further secure the mooring device 10to the dock, pier, or slip 34. Thus, as shown in FIG. 13, the canister12 is positioned below the surface of the dock, pier, or slip 34. Thebottom piece of the canister 12 preferably includes a drain hole 36 forreleasing any water that accumulates in the canister 12, which preventscorrosion and other damage to the internal components of the mooringdevice.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first piece 28 of the lid 14 can be locked usinga lock assembly 38 and a key 40. The lock assembly 38 is a two-pieceassembly of a type well-known to those skilled in the art. The lockassembly 38 extends through an opening in the first piece 28 of the lid14. The lock assembly 38 prevents tampering with the components of themooring device 10 when it is not in use. The first piece 28 of the lid14 also includes an opening 42 for the mooring cable 18 to be pulledfrom the canister 12. The end of the mooring cable 18 includes acarabiner 44. The carabiner 44 serves as an efficient and more secureway to attached the mooring cable 18 to the boat as compared to theprior art method of tying knots. The second piece 30 of the lid 14preferably includes a solar-powered LED light 68 as shown in FIG. 14 toaid in finding the mooring device 10 in the dark and to reduce the riskof tripping on the dock.

The spool 16 includes two side walls 46 connected by a shaft 48 as shownin FIGS. 8-10. The mooring cable 18 is wrapped around the shaft 48 ofthe spool 16 and can be wound mechanically or unwound manually from thespool 16. A carabiner 44 is attached to the mooring cable 1B on one end.The opposite end of the mooring cable 1B is attached to an attachmentloop 66 on one of the side walls 46 of the spool 16. The outside surfaceof each of the side walls has an opening 50 for mounting the spool 16 ina c-bracket 52. The spool 16 rotates within the c-bracket 52. Thec-bracket 52 also includes two openings. An arbor 54 is received throughthe two openings in the c-bracket 52 and the two openings 50 in the sidewalls 46 of the spool 16. Bearings preferably receive the arbor 54 onopposite sides of the c-bracket 52. The spool 16 is preferably springloaded for automatic retraction of the mooring cable 18 when the lockingmechanism is released. Arbor 54 is attached on one end through thecenter of a spring 56. A front spring plate 58 and a back spring plate60 are positioned on either side of the spring 56. The arbor 54, frontspring plate 58, and back spring plate 60 are secured by a bolt orsimilar fastening means. The c-bracket 52 is mounted to the bottom pieceof the canister 12 by fasteners 26 as shown in FIG. 6. These fastenerspreferably are nuts, bolts, and washers, but they may alternatively beany fasteners well-known to those skilled in art.

As shown in FIG. 12, the locking mechanism of the mooring device 10utilizes the spool 16 and stops 62 that extend downwardly from thebottom surface of the lid 14. The perimeter of each of the side walls 46of the spool 16 includes notches 64. There are preferably four stops 62:two stops aligned to engage the notches 64 on the first side wall 46 ofthe spool and two stops aligned to engage the notches 64 on the secondside wall 46 of the spool. The spool is locked, and thus the length ofmooring cable 10 is set, when the notches of the spool 16 and the stops62 are engaged. As shown in FIG. 16, when the first piece 28 of the lid14 is opened or raised, the stops 62 become disengaged with the notches64 in the spool 16. The disengagement allows the length of the mooringcable 1B outside the canister 12 either to extend by a user pulling onthe mooring cable 18 or to retract automatically as a result of theaction of the spring 56. Once the mooring cable 18 is pulled orretracted to the appropriate length, the first piece 28 of the lid 14can be closed. As shown in FIG. 15, the closing of the first piece 28 ofthe lid 14 causes the engagement of the stops 62 on the lid 14 and theclosest notch 64 on the spool 16. Because the length of the mooringcable 18 can be controlled and the mooring cable 18 is attached to theboat via the carabiner 44, there is no excess mooring cable 18 toclutter either the boat or the dock. The carabiner 44 at the end of themooring cable 18 can be clipped directly to the boat. As shown in FIG.13, in an alternative embodiment, instead of being installed in thefloor of a deck, pier, or slip, the mooring device 10 is attached to apost or elevated structure attached to the deck, pier, or slip via abracket that is attached to the side wall 22 of the canister 12. Whilethe side walls 46 of the spool extend perpendicular to the water surfacein the first preferred embodiment, the side walls 46 of the spool extendparallel to the water surface in the second preferred embodiment.

From the aforementioned description, a mooring device has beendescribed. The mooring device is uniquely capable of containing a lineor cable in a compact space with a top surface flush to an adjacent dockor boat deck. Further, the mooring device may also have drainage holestherein. The mooring decorative cover device and its various componentsmay be manufactured from many materials, including but not limited to,vinyl, polymers, such as nylon, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, highdensity polyethylene, polypropylene, ferrous and non-ferrous metalfoils, their alloys, and composites.

Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments have been describedusing terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey thesubstance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention maybe practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes ofexplanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations have beenset forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of theillustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled inthe art that the present invention may be practiced without the specificdetails. In other instances, well known features are omitted orsimplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.

Various operations have been described as multiple discrete operations,in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention,however, the order of description should not be construed as to implythat these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular,these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.

Moreover, in the specification and the following claims, the terms“first,” “second,” “third” and the like—when they appear—are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Otherembodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to allowthe reader to ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. Also, inthe above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped togetherto streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted asintending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim.Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of aparticular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the invention should bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. Therefore, the claimsinclude such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart fromthe spirit and the scope of the present invention.

I claim:
 1. A mooring device, comprising: a canister; a spool,comprising a first side wall and a second side wall, wherein a shaft isjoined between said first side wall and said second side wall, wherein aperimeter of said first side wall comprises a plurality of notches and aperimeter of said second side wall comprises a plurality of notches; amooring cable wrapped around said spool and extending from saidcanister; a lid, wherein said lid comprises a first piece and a secondpiece, wherein said first piece has an open position and a closedposition, and a first row of a plurality of stops and a second row of aplurality of stops, wherein said first row of said plurality of stopsextend from a bottom surface of said first piece of said lid and saidsecond row of said plurality of stops extend from said bottom surface ofsaid first piece of said lid; and, wherein said first row of saidplurality of stops engages said plurality of notches of said first sidewall of said spool when said first piece of said lid is in said closedposition, wherein said plurality of stops is disengaged from saidplurality of notches of said first side wall of said spool when saidfirst piece of said lid is in said open position.
 2. The mooring deviceof claim 1, wherein said first piece of said lid and said second pieceof said lid are hinged together.
 3. The mooring device of claim 1,wherein said mooring device is adapted to mount to a dock, wherein saidlid is flush with a top surface of said dock.
 4. The mooring device ofclaim 1, wherein said spool is mounted in a bracket.
 5. The mooringdevice of claim 4, wherein said bracket is mounted in said canister. 6.The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said first piece of said lidcomprises a locking assembly.
 7. The mooring device of claim 1, whereina first end of said mooring cable is attached to said spool and a secondend of said mooring cable is attached to a carabiner.
 8. The mooringdevice of claim 1, wherein said spool is attached to a spring.
 9. Themooring device of claim 1, wherein said canister comprises a drain hole.